Winged Hope (A Naruto Fanfiction)
by sora1shiro
Summary: OC-centric, starts from the Wave arc. Horrible cliche of a story, please don't read. [DISCONTINUED] WARNINGS: Character bashing, OOC-ness, female!Haku, tentatively forced optimistic writing of a jaded 14-year-old
1. Prologue

Prologue

 **I'm just trying my hand at fanfiction, so we'll see how this plays out. So, above is the link to the picture of the girl talking to the protagonist, who hasn't been introduced yet. So...yeah.**

 _Where...am I?_

I slowly opened my eyes, expecting bright light to flood my vision. Instead, I was greeted by cold darkness. I looked around, searching for something, _anything_ to prove that I was alive. Finding nothing, I felt fear rush through my body. _Am I dead?_

"No, otherwise you'd be stuck in a coffin." I stopped internalizing, and snapped my head up to find the owner of the voice who answered my question. Finally, my eyes landed on a girl with long silver hair, and red eyes that held an insane glint. She frightens me. The girl in question chuckled lowly, sending warning signals to my brain.

"Listen, girl. Before you even think of any more stupid questions, let me briefly explain. Like I said, you're not dead. As to where we are..." She looked around her, although it proved pointless. "Interesting. Looks like they sent us to Oblivion."

I opened my mouth, slowly pronouncing the unfamiliar word like a fawn standing on unsteady legs for the first time.

"Yes, Oblivion. Both everywhere and nowhere. A portal, if you will. Though it could easily be classified as a separate dimension." I slowly digested this newfound information, before stumbling upon an obvious problem. How can I trust this person, when I have absolutely no idea who they are? Said person started laughing like this was the funniest thing she'd ever heard.

"You truly are an idiot," she said as she wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye. She suddenly turned serious once more. "I am you, and you are a new version of me. No matter who you may think you are, you will forever be a mere shadow of the original. One of the many facets carved on a jewel. You will never be seen as yourself, you have no life. Only borrowed time."

A dark feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. If what she said was true, how can I truly live? To be myself, free of the shackles holding me in this dark cage.

"That is where I come in. Go through time and dimensions to find the one I seek. Guide him towards his destiny, and be the polish to make him shine. Go forth as my replacement, and be the director to this foul play. Be Naruto's light, and forever be his 'guardian angel'." And with that, my vision dimmed further, until I blacked out.

 **...That ended up being much more dramatic than I originally intended. Eh. Updates will hopefully be every Wednesday, at least in theory.**

 **473 words.**


	2. Chapter 1

.

 **Above is the main character, except she's supposed to have dark purple eyes, bangs that cover one of her eyes (like Ino's hair, but to her chin,) and really,** _ **really**_ **long hair...and maybe a hair ornament if you're feelin' a little frisky. Jk, jk. Imma just start during the wave arc, sooooo...yeah. That's happening.**

Team seven and Tazuna had just entered Wave Country after their brief encounter with the Demon Brothers. Now fully aware of Tazuna's circumstances, they all proceeded in the mission with as much caution as possible. Of course, that wasn't saying much. With a particularly loud (and violent) pinkette, a brooding Uchiha, and an energetic blonde who hated said Uchiha, this made for stealth nearly impossible.

"How much longer, Tazuna-san~?" Our favorite blonde was tired, hungry, and bored. One can only be entertained by antagonizing an unsociable Uchiha for so long. Especially if you get hit for every barbed word thrown by a fangirlish crush.

"We still have a ways to go, kid," Tazuna said, swaying a bit too much for anyone's liking. He clearly needed to lay off the sake.

"Maa maa. The road of life will get us there eventually." The perverted jonin looked laid back enough to rival the laziest of Nara's.

"But that only works for you! And I'm hungry~," Naruto whined in a very undignified way. But screw dignity! Food comes first.

"A ninja should be able to work in any condition he finds himself in. _Including_ hunger."

"Yeah, Naruto baka! You'll never be a real ninja if this bothers you. Right Sasuke?"

"Hn."

"Kyaaa~!" Apparently Sakura was elated at having "her Sasuke" give her a rare response. What an understatement.

Naruto, definitely miffed that his crush was fawning over the teme, decided that the problem was Sasuke himself. "I'm sure that you never get hungry, Sasuke-teme. After all, you have a duck hidden in that hair of yours. Anyone can see that duck's ass from a mile away!" Naruto cackled, seeing that he hit a sore spot of the raven haired genin.

Anger could be seen bubbling to the surface of Sasuke's relatively small pool of emotions. Just when he was about to burst, he was interrupted by a small rustle in a nearby bush. Quick to react, Naruto sent a shuriken sailing through the foliage. A small squeak was met by the weapon, only to be followed by dead silence. Pleasant as ever, Sakura was the first to snap out of it.

"Naruto-baka! You killed a poor bunny!" she yelled, before promptly hitting said blonde over the head with what she thought of as righteous female fury.

"ITTAI, SAKURA-CHAN!"

Kakashi sighed at his team's antics, and casually walked over to the poor bush that was caught in the crossfire. Looking past shredded leaves, he was prepared to put the unfortunate small animal out of its misery. What he was not prepared for, was a pale girl hidden among the underbrush, and scared half to death if I might add.

Turning large amethyst eyes towards this potential threat,she shrunk back slightly. Kakashi paused in his approach.

"Quiet!" The others immediately grew quiet, seeing as how they'd never seen Kakashi shed his lazy persona. Looking back to the frightened girl, his eyes softened slightly. Adopting a comforting tone of voice, he slowly knelt down. "Hello. I am Kakashi of Konohagakure. I won't hurt you. Can you speak?"

She nodded hesitantly. Progress.

"Do you know what you're name is?" His question was met by a small shake of her head. By now, the others had started peering over their sensei's shoulder. The girl averted her eyes when she accidentally met their curious gazes. "Okay; do you at least have any idea why you're out here?" Another shake of the head.

"Great! Now we have to take care of an old drunkard _and_ a girl with no memory! Can this mission get any worse?!" As soon as the words came out of his mouth, karma decided to get a little mischievous. A whizzing noise could be heard. It was faint, but anyone could tell that whatever was the cause of the noise was getting closer. And quickly, too.

Kakashi's visible eye widened. "DUCK!" He kicked everyone's feet out from under them. Just before they hit the ground, a sword lodged itself in a tree on the other side of the road. With it, carrying a passenger. A large man wearing matching monochrome camouflage arm and leg warmers, striped pants with a bare torso, and bandages obscuring the lower half of his face was standing on the hilt of his sword.

The mysterious girl's eyes lit up, and she pointed to him. "Moo!" Everyone face faulted. The man looked considerably irked by her innocent observation, but eventually ignored her, seeming to continue as if she hadn't just accidentally insulted his choice of wardrobe.

"Well, if it isn't Kakashi of the Sharingan. I'm honored to make your acquaintance. But, you're going to have to give me the old man, or Konoha will just have one less legend."

Kakashi narrowed his eye at the newcomer. "Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Bloody Mist. A-rank missing nin from Kirigakure, master of the art of silent killing."

"I see you've done your homework. Props to you. Now; the man, or certain death."

"Actually, I'd like to have an epic battle where I almost taste defeat, only to pull the rug out from under your feet, almost kill you, but end up being thwarted by your skilled apprentice, only to have our real standoff on Tazuna's bridge, say, about a week later after everyone's recovery." All this was said in a single breath, and was met by giant sweatdrops. Even Sasuke was stunned by the sheer level of ludicrousy(A/N: not a word, but I made it one) of his statement, though this was near unnoticeable to most. "No? Then I suppose there's no helping it."

At that statement, Zabuza held a manic grin. "Let the fun begin."

 **...I've never actually written a cliffhanger before. Yeah, I've bitched about being on the receiving end of more than a few, but I've never actually tried it. Anyways, I'm just trying to get more readers, so please tell me if my ploy worked, or if the entire thing sucks so far. I love comments, regardless of the content! So please leave a few!**

 **word count: 1050**


	3. Chapter 2

**Btw, I** _ **am**_ **indeed typing these before I'm actually sending them out to the world, so hopefully that'll help me regulate** _ **some**_ **kind of schedule. And one last thing. I'm horribly inexperienced with writing battle scenes, so don't expect much. Anywho, ON WITH THE SHOW!**

-(Brief Recap)-

"Then I guess there's no helping it."

 _At this statement, Zabuza held a manic grin. "Let the fun begin."_

-(Present)-

With that, Zabuza leapt off of the sword, taking his sword with him. He seemed to disappear, only to reappear on the surface of a nearby lake. Raising his hands, he flipped through a few hand signs.

"The finest of the ninja arts...the Kirigakure no Jutsu." After he announced the name of his specialty jutsu, a thick mist blanketed the clearing. The konoha ninja grouped together, no longer trusting their senses.

"Eight targets: throat, spinal column, lungs, liver, the jugular vein, the subclavian artery, kidney, heart...which shall I choose?" With every vital point he listed, he released a little more KI, until only the most seasoned veterans could be truly unaffected. Yet Kakashi stood seemingly calm and collected, alert for any sounds to give him their opponent's position.

Suddenly, Zabuza appeared within their tightly wound group, startling them all. Swinging his massive sword as if it were no heavier than a butter knife, it seemed to be on a crash course with their necks. Only with the help of the sharingan was Kakashi able to deflect it.

Now with Kakashi directly in front of him, Zabuza was in the ideal position for an attack. With a kunai in hand, Kakashi dug the weapon deep into Zabuza's flesh. Warning Bells sounded in his head when he realized that his opponent wasn't bleeding.

"Kakashi-sensei! Look out!" Ah, helpful as ever, Naruto.

Kakashi turned just in time to see another Zabuza behind him! The sword was already in position to cleave him in half, and indeed it did.

Sakura shrieked, expecting her sensei to be dead. She closed her eyes, listening for the soft thump of flesh falling to the ground, only to be met by the splashing of water. Gallons of it.

Taken by surprise, Zabuza stood there a second more than he should have, but it was too late. Feeling cold metal against the soft skin of his neck, he didn't dare turn around.

"Game over."

"Heh heh heh. So you think this is over? Too bad for you..."

Yet another clone appeared behind Kakashi. "I am not that easy to fool!" Quickly stabbing the bodies in front of him, it was revealed that it was in fact, a mizu bunshin. Seeing the real Zabuza slide his feet in a wide legged stance and pull his cleaver back in preparation for a swing, Kakashi quickly ducked below the blade, just barely keeping everything intact. Despite the sword's massive size, Zabuza could give his swings both speed and power.

Planting the end of the cleaver in the ground, Zabuza used it as an anchor to carry out the rest of his momentum. After spinning in a semi-circle, he turned to deliver a harsh kick to Kakashi's stomach, lobbing him past Tazuna, and into the nearby lake.

Flipping through another set of hand signs, Zabuza launched his jutsu.

"Water Prison jutsu!"

After successfully ensnaring Kakashi with the sphere of water, Zabuza created another mizu bunshin. Slowly, it stalked towards the genin while the main body was rooted to his spot on the water. In a flash, he kicked Naruto in the face, sending him sprawling a few feet away.

"GO! THIS IS A FIGHT YOU CANNOT WIN! LEAVE ME!" Kakashi's desperate plea went unheeded. Naruto struggled to regain his footing. Once he was steady, he glared at the clone.

"Those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders are scum. But those who don't care for and support their comrades are even worse than scum. Weren't those your exact words, sensei?" Using that small window of opportunity, Naruto sprinted towards the clone, knowing full well that he was outclassed, and would probably die. He closed his eyes, preparing for the final blow, only to fall through the clone, and land with a grunt in the puddle it had left.

A cry echoed across the water. Zabuza fell to one knee, clutching his head with his free hand. Grunts of pain could be heard, showing off his excellent pain endurance, as it was clear that a separate battle was being waged in his mind. But against whom?

The answer to this question was soon apparent when the mystery girl softly padded onto the smooth surface of the water. Pale hair swaying hypnotically, she reached up to softly touch his temples with the tips of her fingers. It was then that everyone could see her eyes. Instead of the amethyst hue they formerly held, they had turned a light lilac, with her pupils resembling a white cross, or perhaps a clover. Zabuza's body went rigid at the contact, and his eyes met hers. When visual contact was made, he let out a howl of agony. It was a sound that raised the hairs on one's arms, and brought to mind unimaginable pain. After several painful seconds of his screaming, she released her hold on his head, and turned back to the shore. The genin tensed, preparing for the onslaught of mental torture similar to the missing nin's. Of course, this never came. Instead, a certain blonde was greeted by a warm embrace, and gentle snores. She had fallen asleep, arms wrapped tightly around Naruto.

The water prison was released, and Kakashi fell to the water. When he rose to the surface, he spluttered, and coughed up water while attempting to swim to the shore. Snapping out of his reverie, Zabuza came back to consciousness. Preparing for an attack, they all stood on guard, but were severely confused when he turned, and walked in the opposite direction.

"Haku! We're going back." A hunter nin hesitantly broke from the cover of the trees, following Zabuza silently without question.

The group released a sigh of relief. The danger was cleared for now, but who knows what other mercenary ninja Gato had hired? All was silent when Kakashi gently pulled his hitai-ate down to cover his sharingan, and promptly fell face first to the ground. This served to snap the others back to reality.

"EH?! KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Sakura had had enough scares today to last her a lifetime, but it seemed she was still as energetic as ever. (A/N: it helps when you do absolutely nothing.)

Kakashi was panting slightly. "Don't worry...I think I...might've overused...the sharingan..." He looked like he was about to faint.

"Stupid sensei for worrying us like that," Naruto muttered under his breath.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted in what was assumed to be agreement.

"Well, for saving these old bones of mine, how about we head to my house. It's not too far away..." Tazuna looked through the trees. You could _just barely_ see the faint lights of civilization. Seeing as they had somehow migrated during the fight, it was understandable that they were somewhat closer to their destination. Sasuke sighed.

"Sakura, you and I will take Kakashi-sensei while Naruto helps the girl."

"Hai, Sasuke-kun." The hearts in her eyes would have sent him into a fit of retching, except he was too pale at the thought of Sakura molesting what little parts of his body she could touch while doing this simple task.

When everyone was secured, they set off, energized by the thought of a good meal and sleep.

 **Hello again! Just so you know, I take no credit for that fight. I own volumes 1-12 of Naruto, so I was basically rewording the fight. But how was it? Good? Bad? Let me know in the comments!**

 **word count: 1,337**


	4. Chapter 3

**Have any of you heard of Cize? Just started it with my mom, and I feel like I died.**

 **R.I.P.**

 **Here lies Aradia, otherwise known to others as shiro1sora**

 **Death by Cize**

 **~14 years of sarcasm and pervertedness that will be missed by no one~**

The small group arrived at Tazuna's house shortly after they set off. When they knocked upon the door, a middle aged woman answered...sporting a frying pan. In the hands of a house wife, a simple cooking utensil can be transformed into the deadliest of weapons. After a moment of panicked confusion, all misgivings were cleared, and the wrath of a woman had been momentarily appeased.

"Tsunami, these are the ninjas I contracted from Konoha." Tsunami gave them a once over, and she immediately fell into her "mother hen" mode.

"Are they alright? Why don't you take them up to the spare bedrooms we have upstairs."

Apologizing for the intrusion, they thanked her for her hospitality and kindness. Slowly, they dragged their feet up the stairs, weighed down considerably by the inanimate bodies they were carrying. When they finally reached the top, they divvied the rooms by gender. Kakashi would rest in one room, while the silver haired girl rested in the other room. While they were at it, they settled their things in as well to save time. Exhausted, they tromped down the steps, hoping that food was ready.

Naruto and the rest, for lack of a more fitting term, flopped into what they assumed were their seats. After a few moments of silence, Tsunami spoke from the small kitchen.

"I hope my father didn't cause you too much trouble. He only cares for the well being of the country, and Inari."

Naruto's curiosity was peaked ever so slightly. "Inari?"

"Yes, he's my son. Inari was such a bright child, always happy. But after that day, he lost all hope."

By now all three of them were listening, and Sakura decided to join in the conversation. "Can I ask...what happened?" It seemed to be a sore spot for everyone in the house, as it seemed to grow colder at the very mention of the incident.

"You know that Wave is suffering from Gato's tyranny, correct?" She said it more as a statement rather than a question, but they nodded nonetheless. "This isn't anything new at this point. Gato came several months ago, but only started to get aggressive later on.

"By this time, there were several riots against him as he started drawing more from the country. Inari's father, Kaiza, was one of the leaders. When the riots grew more frequent, Gato started hiring mercenaries and bandits. Women young and old would disappear. And when they were found, they were never the same. Kaiza wanted to end that once and for all. But he was caught, and publicly executed. Inari didn't fully understand what was happening, but since then he's grown depressed..."

Empathy rolled off the two boys in waves, while Sakura had a hand covering her mouth, tears in her eyes. After regaining her bearings, the pinkette spoke up once again.

"Tsunami-san...thank you for telling us. We promise that we'll take down Gato, and free this country once and for all." Tsunami smiled at the determination smoldering in the girl's emerald eyes.

Sakura looked at the other two to make sure that she wasn't the only one wanting to do this. As if knowing this, both boys nodded to her in silent confirmation.

-(Small Time Skip)-

An awkward silence settled among the people at the table. Kakashi was still resting, and the girl was snoozing away. Unable to take it anymore, Inari stood.

"Why do you outsiders even bother? You're all going to die anyway."

Trying his best to keep calm, Naruto looked at him. Glared, is more like it really. "I will survive, because there's no way that a fat midget like Gato can kill me. I'm a ninja, dattebayo!"

"You're all going to die, so just stay out of our business! You can't say anything, because you haven't suffered like I have!"

At this, Naruto snapped. All thoughts of gently telling the kid to snap out of it flew out the window. He didn't know half of what he'd gone through, and yet he claims to have suffered more than himself!

"Kid, it's a ninja's job to kill. Every day is a battle for your life. Sasuke-teme doesn't have anyone to fight for, because his own brother killed his entire clan! So don't even start with that bull crap, saying that you've suffered more than us. Get your head outta the past, and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!" Panting slightly from his outburst, he forced himself to calm down. He shook his head to clear his thoughts slightly, and rushed past a shocked child, muttering a quick "I need a break."

After his outburst, Naruto stormed out of the house looking to blow off some steam. After finding a secluded clearing, he sat down in the lotus position, seeking to meditate. Taking a deep breath, then slowly releasing it, he let the world around him fade away.

 _-(in his mindscape)-_

 _Naruto only sent a cursory glance around him, already used to the sight before him, as he had seen it many times before; sometimes intentionally, other times not so much._

 _Shaking bad memories off, he followed the red pipeline until he found a giant cage._

 _"Yoko-san?"_

 _"_ _ **Yes, kit?**_ _"_

 _"Sorry to disturb. It's just...you saw what happened, right?"_

 _"_ _ **Indeed. Kit, it's not your fault. The kid needed a wake up call, and you just served as the airhorn to serve his needs.**_ _" Naruto laughed at this. He'd done a prank where he rigged the Hokage's intercom, and set it so that an airhorn blared at the bright time of 2:00 A.M. Some people even got drenched be a bucket of water balloons in ice water, set off be triggers sensitive to sound. Of course, those were only reserved for the cruelest of Kyuubi haters._

 _But Hiashi looked the funniest. He had run out of his house sporting a loose fitting silk robe, complete with fuzzy slippers and an eye mask. He didn't come out of his house for weeks!_

 _"Thanks for cheering me up, Yoko-san." Kyuubi let out a sigh._

 _"_ _ **How many times must I tell you?! It's 'Yoko-chan' or 'Yoko-nee'!**_ _" Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly._

 _"Sorry Yoko-nee. But I should get going. The others might be worried by now..." Receiving a nod from the great fox, he faded back to reality._

 _-(the real world)-_

Naruto had just come back to full consciousness, when he felt a presence behind him. Staying still until the last moment, he grabbed the hand of his would-be attacker.

"If I may ask, who in the nine layers of hell are you?"

 **I am on a roll! This is my third more than a thousand word chapter in two days! NOT EVEN WHOLE ONES! This is amazing. Well, let's just see how long my inspiration lasts...**

 **word count: 1224**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello world! Same day as when I finished the last chapter. It feels so nice to be productive in my hobby of writing! Anyways, yes, I know. It seems as if I'm having a bit of trouble with the pacing, because Kakashi is still being a lazy ass in someone else's bed. Don't worry though, this is similar to canon, but not quite, so I may be a little off kilter in some places in the timeline.**

 _-(previously)-_

 _Naruto had just come back to full consciousness, when he felt a presence behind him. Staying still until the last moment, he grabbed the hand of his would-be attacker._

 _"If I may ask, who in the nine layers of hell are you?"_

 _-(presently)-_

Whoever was out for his head now was doing a pretty bad job at trying to kill him. Idly, Naruto noticed that the hand he was holding was very pale and feminine. The person struggled a bit, but then relaxed themselves, seeing as how it didn't look like they'd be getting out of his death grip anytime soon, unless he wanted them to.

"At ease, ninja-san. I was just about to wake you up. It's rather chilly at night, and I didn't want you to catch a cold."

Naruto turned slightly, just enough so that he could see the stranger out of the corner of his eye. There stood a young woman, maybe two years older than he. In a simple pink sleeveless yukata with purple swirl designs, she stood a few inches taller than himself. With dark hair paired with equally dark eyes, she looked like the definition of a Japanese beauty. He searched her eyes for any dishonesty. Finding none, he released her hand.

"Sorry, it's a force of habit."

"No harm done. But if I may ask, what are you doing out here so late at night?" Genuine concern shone in her eyes. It was nice to know that at least someone cared for him, even if they were complete strangers to each other.

"I was...training. To get stronger is the reason I live."

"One can only become truly strong when protecting their precious people. Tell me, do you have any precious people, ninja-san?" A strange question paired with wisdom that shone beyond her years.

"...I do. But most of them probably don't feel the same." A wave of sadness washed over him, when he remembered he needed to smile to lighten the mood. Looking up, he sent her the brightest smile he could muster. Although it was fake, it served its purpose as a distraction. "But that doesn't bother me. I'll make _everyone_ see me as one of their precious people! When I become Hokage, dattebayo!" He was lying through his teeth, and they both knew it, but she let it go seeing that it was a topic commonly referred to as a "ticking bomb."

She tactfully sidestepped the verbal landmine in favor of changing the subject. "What were you doing as a training exercise?"

Naruto quickly thought up a realistic excuse. For some reason, he didn't want to reveal his true strength just yet. "Just practicing chakra control." The girl nodded. Unknown to Naruto, she was remembering her genin days where she had to climb trees using only chakra; a common practice in mastering one's chakra. "But enough about me. What are you doing all the way out here with Gato's men on constant patrol?"

She weighed her options for a moment. Deciding there would be no harm in telling, she told him the truth. "I'm here to pick some medicinal herbs for fast healing. I heard that Wave had an abundance of them." While Zabuza hadn't gotten seriously injured during their last run-in, their encounter with a few hunter nin a while back had left their supply depleted.

Naruto looked down. Although he hadn't paid them any mind before, he saw that there were indeed small sprigs of leafy plants growing in clusters in the clearing. "Well then, I guess two pairs of hands are better than one." And so they settled into a comfortable silence, collecting the greenery in the basket the unnamed girl had brought. When the basket was full, they both rose up to their full height. Looking up, they saw that it was considerably darker than when they had started.

"I suppose I should get going. My...father might be worried."

"Yeah..." Naruto was sad to leave his new friend. "Can I know your name before you go?"

"Haku."

"Well, Haku-chan, my name's Naruto! Thank you for being here tonight!" He had enjoyed her company very much, and appreciate that she listened with something akin to empathy.

Even in the almost nonexistent lighting, Naruto could see the bright blush adorning her face at the honorific. Then she adopted a sly grin.

"You're welcome, Naruto- _kun."_ She turned to leave, but not before leaving one last parting remark.

"And by the way, Naruto, I'm a guy." Naruto nearly fell over. There was no way Haku could be a boy! Absolutely none! After getting over his shock, he adopted a smirk of his own.

"I don't believe that for a second, Haku- _chan_. You're too curvy to pass as a boy." At the edge of the clearing, she stopped in her tracks, back rigid. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing that he'd made her blush a second time, she didn't even turn to face him before throwing a "PERVERT!" over her shoulder, and storming into the forest.

Naruto snickered. He was well and truly alone now, but that didn't bother him in the slightest. Allowing a foxy grin to stretch across his face, he set off towards the bridge builder's house.

 _-(time skip)-_

Only seconds after he'd set foot in the small house did he feel the excruciating pain of Sakura's fist connecting with the crown of his head. _Hard._

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU, NARUTO-BAKA?!"

 _'Just once, I wish someone would ask if I'm alright, and actually care about the answer.'_ Choosing not to verbalize his thoughts, he shot her a realistic looking grin.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. After I ran out to cool my head, I went in the woods. But then I ended up getting lost..." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly to make the lie more believable. Sakura snorted in a very unladylike way.

"Typical Naruto; you're such a baka. If Sasuke had gone out, he wouldn't have gotten lost like you did."

And with that, she turned on her heel and stormed into the girls' room. Naruto let out a heavy sigh.

 _'Of course not. After all,_ Sasuke's _perfect in every way. There's nothing that_ Sasuke _can't do.'_ With a bitter heart, he slowly climbed the stairwell one step at a time. At the top, he saw that the mystery girl was finally conscious. When she saw him, she took him into an embrace so warm, it almost brought him to tears. Then she looked up with sparkling eyes, and uttered the one name no one had ever called him before.

 _"Friend."_

 **Yay! I accidentally deleted a third of this chapter, so I had to redo it. That was frustrating. BUT! I wanted you all to know that this will not be a heavily romance based fanfiction. I'm telling you this because girls are appearing left and right, and I have three reasons why basically everyone remains in everyone's friend zone. One, I absolutely** _ **despise**_ **the shipping if NaruHina. Sorry, but no. Two, the majority of my favorite pairings are yaoi. Hard to believe, right? Look at my page, and you'll see that lo and behold, I'm one of** _ **those**_ **fangirls. And the final reason: I suck at romance. I'm just too inexperienced, and can't handle it. So the most that you guys'll get is probably ShikaTema, because...they're cute. Period.**

 **word count: 1361**


	6. Chapter 5

_'thinking/added emphasis/mindscape'_

 _'_ _ **Yoko/Kyuubi talking'**_

 **'Author notes'**

Morning had already come and gone, and now midday was already fast approaching. Kakashi-against Tsunami's wishes-found himself staring at his "cute little genins" and a silver haired leech. Ever since she had regained consciousness, she had attached herself to some part of Naruto; not all unlike the tendencies of a certain Uchiha fangirl. The strange thing was that Naruto didn't seem to mind one bit, even when Sakura was giving the pair death glares when she thought they weren't looking.

Kakashi cleared his throat to regain their attention. "Today I thought I'd start your training."

"About damn time." For quite possibly the first time in his life, Sasuke had finally leveled up to being able to speak in more than one word phrases and grunts! Regardless of this monumental occasion, Kakashi ignored him.

"In the academy, you all were taught the basics of chakra. Now you're going to practice regulating and channeling your chakra to build up your control."

"So what are we going to be doing, sensei?" Although Sakura's supposedly the top kunoichi of her class, it soon became apparent that the academy standards aren't quite up to snuff in comparison to the jonin's days. Poor Kakashi may very well have to exert all of his patience to tolerate these brats.

"'How,' you ask? We do it the old fashioned way! We climb trees! But this will not be easy. To do this exercise, you can't use your hands. Only chakra."

"HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT?!" For once, the cause of this loud interjection was none other than a certain cherry blossom.

Without answering her question, Kakashi instead clapped his hands together in a ram hand sign, and walked up the trunk of the nearest tree.

"Focus your chakra to the soles of your feet. Apply too much chakra, and you'll be rejected by the tree's natural chakra. Too little, and you'll slide off. Now, while you're doing that, I have some lost reading time to make up for." With that, he threw a kunai at each of his student's feet, and made off with a shunshin."

 _'Well this sucks. Yoko-nee-chan already taught me this, so if I practice with the others, they'll get suspicious...I know! I'll just pretend I'm slacking off like usual.'_

Sakura stood by a tall tree. Curiously, she put a foot against the tree bark to see if she would stick. After making sure she wouldn't slip, she cautiously brought her body parallel to the ground, and took a few steps.

Before she could feel proud of herself, Naruto's parasite detached herself, and ran towards the tree trunk. Instead of colliding, as everyone else in the vicinity (including a hidden Kakashi) had expected, she started doing cartwheels up the tree until she reached the highest branch that was thick enough to support her weight. Upon her perch, she smiled down at them.

Feeling somewhat disgruntled at the fact that 'her' Sasuke was paying attention to the other girl, Sakura took up the unspoken challenge. Gathering her determination, she launched herself off the ground with an unconsciously chakra powered kick, and ran up the tree bark until she was exactly one branch above the other girl. A sense of accomplishment welled up in her heart, and she stuck out her tongue to the other.

"SUGOI! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD DO THAT, HIKARI!" They all stopped to stare at the rambunctious blonde.

"...Hikari?"

"Mhm. I decided to give her a name since she didn't have one of her own."

"You do realize she's not coming back to Konoha with us, right? We have to find her family, dobe."

"But if she was passed out in the forest with no memory, what are the chances that she doesn't have a family?! I can't just leave her here where she'll be surrounded by poverty and preyed upon by Gato's men!" The two looked at him weirdly. It was then that he realized he'd cracked his persona, and had said too much. He tried to cover up his mistake. "Well, I mean...what if she's like me? It's not right to leave your friends behind, dattebayo!" It finally dawned on Sasuke that Naruto was _lonely_.

After the Uchiha massacre, he felt so terribly lonely within the empty clan house. Still did. But Naruto had always been like that. He had no parents to begin with, and it didn't look like he had a lot of friends, either. Sasuke decided to leave the topic alone, and attempt to conquer the damn tree in front of him. Of course, this didn't mean that Sakura took the hint.

"Hmph. Only a baka like you would ever try to sneak a person out of a foreign country. Why don't you focus on training before planning a grand scheme of smuggling. But you might as well give up at this point; you'll never beat Sasuke-kun!"

Affection for the girl or not, Naruto was fed up. His face was a mask of cold fury, features seeming to have been chiselled out of stone. " _Haruno-san_ , I'd suggest that we only allow minimum contact between us for the remainder of the mission. Unless necessary, I wish to be left alone. Hikari, we're going back to the house." And with that, both he and Hikari walked out of the temporary training grounds, leaving a shocked girl to wonder if she really had gone too far this time around.

 **1\. If you hadn't noticed already, the characters in this fanfic are OOC. This is done on purpose, because I like making everything harder on myself (*sarcasm,) and made them my own characters. Sasuke is less of an arrogant prick, Naruto acts like he has actually been through some shit, (which he has,) and Sakura...there's really no helping her.**

 **(-_-)**

 **2\. I'm thinking of following canon up until maybe...Sasuke's defect? Because I noticed that most Naruto fanfics only go on until the war between Oto, Suna, and Konoha after the chuunin exams. So just as a heads up, this may get to be more than a little long.**

 **word count: 1010**


	7. Chapter 6

**I noticed that my author's notes are now getting ridiculously long. Sorry about that; I'll try to downsize it a bit. (P.S. I named the Kyuubi Yoko, because he's a she in this fanfic.)**

The walk back to Tazuna's house was a short one made in complete silence. It wasn't that he was angry at Sakura...well, maybe a little, but he wasn't _furious._ It was just that the idea of leaving behind his new friends hurt him. For the longest time, he had been alone; and now he has two lights. Two people to anchor him to the land of the living. If he had to go back to that forced social solitude, he didn't know what he would do.

When they arrived at their destination, he continued up to the shared room, Hikari following closely behind. His emotions were a jumbled mess, and he needed to fix that pronto. Getting into something that resembled the lotus position, he prepared for the transition of reality to...whatever people would call the mindscape. However, he forgot that he still had Hikari's small wrist clutched in his grip.

- _(in his mindscape)-_

 _Once again, Naruto found himself in the dank sewer of his mind. Instincts guided him along the familiar path until he reached Yoko's cage. Ignoring his instincts to flee, he stepped through the bars easily, as it was meant to hold a demon, not a human._

 _"_ _ **Welcome back to my lair, kit. Ah, and you brought along a friend, too. Or is she something more?**_ _" Yoko teased. Although she looked like a big, scary fox, she was really warm and fuzzy at heart._

 _Naruto spluttered. "Friend! She's just a friend." Unfortunately, he had answered a tad quicker than he'd intended, and this did not escape the notice of the nine tails._

 _"_ _ **Oh, but of course, otouto. But only a spark is needed to ignite the fires of passion. Soon enough, you'll have your own litter of kits running around the house!**_ _"_

 _At this, Naruto couldn't help but turn bright red. He looked like a fish out of water with his mouth gaping open and closed, his brain trying-and failing-to find ANY words to defend his case. Seeing his expression, Yoko howled with laughter._

 _"_ _ **OH KAMI, CALM DOWN BOY. I'M ONLY YANKING YOUR TAIL!" Naruto scowled at this, ears tinged with embarrassment. After a minute or two, she finally calmed down enough to speak again. "No, really. Who is she, and what is she doing here? She doesn't seem to be making a conscious effort to stay in your mind, and any normal human being would be cowering before the greatness of Kyuubi-sama.**_ _"_

 _"But_ I _didn't."_

 _"_ _ **If you took notes, kit, you would have noticed that I said 'any**_ **normal** _ **human being.**_ _'" Naruto huffed._

 _"Well,_ excuse _me for not being normal." Yoko saw that she had accidentally hit a sore spot for him, and immediately went into her 'mother mode.'_

 _"_ _ **It's okay, kit. It's fine to not be normal. In fact, their perception of normal is abnormal and boring. Really, only a few people are normal. So cheer up, kit.**_ _" Her efforts were rewarded by a strained, but genuine smile._

 _"Thanks, Yoko-chan. This is Hikari. We found her on the way to Wave, but she doesn't have any idea as to who she really is. Is there any way you could help with that?" Yoko looked at the pale headed girl who was currently wriggling around on one of her giant tails. As they watched, she started climbing up to one of Yokos ears, the fox wincing at the occasional tug of fur._

 _She giggled when she sat atop the fox's head, then suddenly straightened. With red eyes, she lowered herself to Yoko's ear once again, and whispered a phrase._

 _"Codename: Unchained."_

 _The fox's eyes widened considerably. Assuming a stance of offence, Yoko's back arched, and she let out a rumbling growl that would've sent shivers down the backs of even the most seasoned veterans. The vixen thrashed in an attempt to dislodge the girl she now deemed as a threat. The girl with eyes as red as blood was no longer who Naruto had named 'Hikari,' that much was apparent. This girl with the dangerous glint of insanity scared the great Kyuubi no Kitsune, and she was now a trespasser in his mind. But instead of harming anyone, she simply leaped to the floor to take her place next to Naruto._

 _He tensed, expecting an attack, but none came._

 _"Yo~ko~. It's been too long. I know I'm not the best of friends to have, but that was mean," she pouted._

 _"_ _ **You are no friend of mine. Granted, you are no foe of mine either, but you are definitely not any ally of mine.**_ _"_

 _"How cruel." She then turned to the jinchuuriki, and bowed. "Thank you for finding me." Ignoring her thanks, he got to what he thought of as the main point._

 _"What did you do with Hikari, and who are you?" She cocked her head to the side, confusion evident on her face._

 _"Hikari? Oh! I forgot that's what you named her. Call her my...counterpart, if you will. I'm currently not strong enough to gain full control over this body, as escaping took quite a lot out of me. And you can call me 'Yami.' The darkness hidden by the light that is Hikari. Fitting, isn't it." Yoko snorted._

 _"_ _ **'Yami' certainly is a fitting name for someone such as yourself.**_ _"_

 _"Quiet, you overgrown mongrel! But since we're past introductions, I have to ask for a favor. What I need is the gift of speech, and the recent happenings of this time."_

 _"_ _ **Very well. But I cannot say that it won't hurt,**_ _" she said, grinning maliciously. Kneeling down to Yami's height, she gently touched the tip of her snout to her forehead. Not a second later, Yami collapsed, convulsing on the floor of the sewers. A scream tore from her throat once, before she fell silent, and faded out of the mindscape. Thoroughly shaken, Naruto exited his mindscape without bothers to say goodbye to Kyuubi._

 **Okay people! By now, everyone probably already knows, but my plan is to update one chapter of this story every Wednesday, just so I have plenty of time to actually write if I get too laid back compared to the breakneck pace I'm pushing myself at.**

 **word count: 1067**


	8. Chapter 7

(Sasuke's POV, at the end of chapter 5)

Only after Naruto's back retreated into the treeline, did me and Sakura continue our training exercise. It irritated me to no end that of all the people, _Sakura_ managed to accomplish chakra control before me. If Naruto had done what she did, it would've lessened the blow to my pride a bit, but this is _Sakura!_ This was just plain embarrassing for an Uchiha. Father is probably rolling in his grave as we speak. I refocused when Kakashi made his entrance with a poof of smoke.

"Congratulations, Sakura. You completed the training exercise on your first try. However, compared to both Naruto and Sasuke's chakra reserves, yours are so small, it's like comparing a drop of water to an ocean. You got tired from just walking up and down the tree once, right?" Sakura simply nodded in response.

"Then here's your new task. Continue tree walking until exhaustion while Sasuke continues at his task. Continuously exerting your chakra coils will enlarge your reserves." Her face fell at the thought of being caught sweaty in front of me, "her Sasuke." But then she seemed to accept the inevitable. Although I can say that somewhere during her thought process for that big decision, I felt cold shivers run down my spine. That never boded well for me.

Seeing as Kakashi had nothing to say to me, I resumed my training. My first impulse was to scoff, and say that tree climbing has nothing to do with the ninja arts, but I knew that my arrogance may very well get me killed against a better opponent before I get to kill _him._ I know that at this point, I should get over their deaths, and continue on to honor the Uchiha bloodline, but I can't let go. They're all that I have now, and even if they're dead, memories of them still haunt the halls that I walk everyday.

 _It's enough to drive me mad._

-(Time skip)-

When both Sakura and I had finished our training, we walked back to Tazuna's place. Opening the door, we found Naruto talking to Hikari. They seemed to be having a light conversation, but stopped when they noticed us. Standing up, Naruto silently walked out of the room, and started the climb up the stairs. Hikari's gaze followed him the whole way, but she made no move to stop or follow him. Offhandedly, I noticed that Sakura was giving the other girl a nasty glare, before storming off. Hn. She's probably still pissed at Naruto for saying that stuff to her.

Feeling somewhat awkward, I went to settle on the couch a few spots away from Hikari. She looked at me once, and silently walked out of the room as well. Am I really that unsociable? No, father always said that a proper Uchiha doesn't need to have friends in life; only tools. But how can I later achieve my goals if I don't have any support? I can't even run up a damn tree, let alone defeat my prodigy of a brother!

Hikari came back into the room, effectively breaking me from my thoughts. Taking out a white box with a familiar red cross insignia, she started carefully attending and dressing my wounds. I wish all girls were like her. Quiet, caring, and kind. Then I wouldn't have any fangirls! I hissed in pain when she started caring for me with alcohol. Yes, I know that it's to prevent any infection, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. When she was done, I decided to try to start a conversation. Shocking, I know.

"So...have you regained any of your memories?"

"No."

"Still don't know your name?"

"No, but I am satisfied with the name Naruto-sama has given me."

"Why do you use '-sama' when addressing Naruto?"

"Because he saved me from the darkness. He helped me, when it would have been in his best interest to leave me on the side of the road." She had adopted a look of adoration that I had seen on far too many fangirls for my liking.

"So that's why you follow the dobe around all the time?" This really did confuse me.

"Of course! And with what he has been through in life, he should deserve at least this much respect." Her words puzzle me. What had the dobe done to warrant this much respect from a stranger who had only known him for about a week?! Deep down, I couldn't help but feel the smolder of jealousy. All I've ever wanted was respect, and the dobe had gotten what I've always dreamed of before I had!

"But what's so good about him?! He's a clanless idiot who's always been the last of the class!" I couldn't help the irritation that coloured my voice. She lowered her head for a moment, then fixated a harsh glare on me. After a few seconds of silence, she drew in a deep breath.

" _You_ may not see the value of Naruto's personality, but _I_ do!" she hissed. " _I_ happen to greatly appreciate his kind words, his enthusiasm, and his forgiving nature! Meanwhile, I don't see what's so great about an arrogant guy like you who's coddled because of his descent! What's so great about someone who has an inferiority complex, and only lives to kill the last member of their family?! Really, Naruto-sama's far too kind to tolerate you people!" By the end of her rant, she was panting slightly.

This girl puzzles me. I can't say that I'm not offended, but she may be the one and only woman of the female species that would ever say that to my face. Why is she not like the others? Girls flock to me left and right! But those women only seek status. It's a nice change to see that someone can talk to me normally without trying to be the new "Mrs. Uchiha."

"Alright…..So I can see that I am also an unappealing character, but don't you ever get annoyed by Naruto's unending enthusiasm? Don't you ever get fed up?!"

"Of course not! Can't you see that he's not as happy as you seem to think he is? He has feelings, just like everybody else. Naruto-sama is just stronger than most. His smile gives us all strength; it's his gift to us. Why can't you accept that?" And with that, Hikari stood to take her leave. Any and all retorts were cut short when I took a moment to contemplate her words. Naruto was like me? Yes, and I've known for a very long time that we're similar. But why does he always wear that insufferable grin?! It pisses me off that I had gotten the shorter end of the stick!

But maybe…maybe he's just trying to live up to people's expectations. Like me. I was never supposed to be the Uchiha heir, but ever since that damn brother of mine, my _perfect brother,_ slaughtered the clan, the council and villagers both put me on a fucking pedestal, all because of my family's bloodline.

But no one seemed to care about the blond idiot. He never had a family, has to live by himself, and yet he always has a smile. How can he smile?

-(timeskip)-

Briefly marking my page, I put down the book I had found lying around. I came to the lazy realization that there was the sound of faint clangs of metal against metal. It was far too frequent for someone like Sakura to be sparring against anyone. She just didn't have the stamina, or motivation to keep a fight going long enough for it to register as background noise.

Curious, I quietly crept towards the source of the sound. It grew louder as I progressed, and soon enough I could hear the heavy footfalls of what seemed to be a fast paced mock battle. Turning around the final corner, I saw that it was none other than Naruto and Hikari sparring. Sweat dripped down both of their forms in great rivulets, proving that they had indeed been going at it for awhile.

It wasn't all that amazing, as we're still just genin, but it was definitely impressive. Especially when taking into account that Hikari isn't affiliated with any hidden village. Which leads to the question: is she an enemy ninja? She could be in league with Zabuza, and just trying to get information on the enemy…..but that wouldn't make sense! If that were true, then why did she help us against him? She's obviously quite attached to the dobe, and seemed to know a bit about him. But Naruto seems to not know her at all, and he never talks about himself…..in truth, how much do we really know about him? I shook my head to rid myself of those thoughts. Distrust among ranks only leads to dissention. We hardly function as a team as we are; we don't need something like this to disrupt the flow we've developed.

I turn my eyes back to the fight at hand. Hikari seemed to have outstanding agility and reflexes, and although Naruto's taijutsu's a little rough around the edges, he can pack a punch when he wants to. And, surprisingly enough, he's pretty light on his feet as well.

As I watched, Naruto lunged towards Hikari with a rubber tipped kunai in hand. She easily ducked below the sloppy swing, and punched him in the solar plexus, knocking the air out of him. She followed up with a kick to his side. He stumbled back a little, presumably to get some distance between them. He stood, panting slightly, then charged towards her once again. He ducked low to avoid a punch that would've connected with his temple. Feinting a punch towards her side, he spun on his left foot, and aimed a high kick at the smaller girl's head, only to have it blocked by her forearm.

She gripped his ankle, and pulled him closer in an attempt to stab him in the stomach with her own soft pointed kunai knife. Thinking quickly, Naruto twisted his torso to avoid the jab. With the tables turned, he took hold of Hikari's shoulders, and flipped her over the leg that she was still holding. She landed with a thud, and layed there in a groaning heap.

Slowly, I stepped out from the shadows. Naruto turned to face me, shock and panic evident on his face. Obviously, he had not known I had been there the whole time. Then he gave me a half-hearted grin, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He knew he'd been caught, but I decided not to push the subject, We all have some secrets that we don't want to share.

"Dobe."

"Eh?"

"Let's spar sometime."

"EH?! SASUKE, ARE YOU FEELING OKAY?!" I could feel my irritation building up.

"Shut up. It'll be mutually beneficial." I struggled to keep my voice level.

"Yes, your highness," he deadpanned, then broke into a fit of giggles. I couldn't help the small smirk that made its way on my face, and looked sideways to the still fallen Hikari. She caught my gaze, and smiled brightly. Looks like everything is right once more.

-(Time skip, & 3rd person POV)-

It had been another rough day for the trio who had decided to start training together. Of course, it wasn't a secret between them and the remaining two members of Team 7, but it had garnered a lot of attention from Sakura. Convinced that every girl was out to steal the Uchiha from her clutches, animosity had inevitably sprung between her and Hikari, who had tried to tell the pinkette time and time again that she only saw him as a friend.

Yet instead of joining their training sessions like offered, Sakura preferred to stay on the sidelines, glaring at Hikari and stealing not so subtle glances at the Uchiha. This had become an unfortunate routine by now, and everyone could feel the tension rising. Finally, it seemed that Sakura would be the one to make the first move.

"I don't know why Sasuke-kun bothers training with the baka", she said in her annoyingly high voice. Naruto's shoulders tense momentarily, before relaxing. Seeing this, she continued. "He's a failure. Always has been, and that's a fact of life. Honestly, I don't see how he could even _dream_ to be on the same level as Sasuke. Not even his parents wanted him. At this point, shouldn't he-"

SLAP!

Her eyes widened as her mind registered the stinging pain in her cheek. In the brief time she had been mouthing off, Hikari had marched towards Sakura, and slapped her, leaving a throbbing maple leaf of a handprint. Her jade eyes betrayed her shock as she raised a trembling hand to her face.

"Don't you dare continue! Your heart is so twisted and ugly that even Naruto-sama, the kindest person in the world, will not love you! How can you even live with yourself?!" Hikari's cheeks were flushed with anger, and she was panting slightly from her outburst. Abruptly turning on her heel, she grabbed Naruto, and made her way back into the house, snowy locks trailing behind her. Sasuke looked at the girl, disgust clear in the depths of his onyx eyes, before following his two companions inside the house.

 **HOLY SHIT, MY WORD COUNT IS INSANE! Sorry, i'm and ameture, so this is like fucking Christmas for me. So anywho, It's pretty apparent that I hate Sakura. Always have, always will. Ain't no changin' that. But don't worry, I'll make her better soon enough. So….yeah. Thanks for stickin' around!**

 **Word count: 2282**


	9. Note

Hello! I would like to thank everyone who took the time of day to stop and read this, and I sincerely hope that you enjoyed this at least a little bit. Sadly, I am going to put this story on the shelf as well. It lived a short life, but I can't take the pressure. Here are the strongest and main reasons that I'm discontinuing this, or at most, putting this on hiatus:

 **1\. I'm horrible at staying motivated.** See, I think that I my have a slight case of ADHD, because I always quickly lose interest in things, and my mind/attention span tends to jump around quite a bit. It's hard for me to uphold any type of stable schedule, as I had no update typed at this time, and ready to be sent out to the world.

 **2\. I can't take the pressure.** Similar to number 1, I can't update regularly. And also, on FFN, I've also been having a problem with hate comments, which don't encourage me in the least.

 **3\. My mediocrity.** Whether it be in my studies, or a simple hobby, I _always_ half-ass things. I've half-assed my homework, and have never once studied for a test, and yet I somehow manage to scrape by only by sheer luck. The luck of a ladybug, as I like to call it.

 **4\. I have no skills.** Similar to number 3, I lack actual writing talent right now. My average word count would have to be around 1,000, with the one outlier of 2,000. Truthfully, the last chapter was the longest thing I've ever written before. My pacing is out of wack, people are dissatisfied about my spin on the characters, and even _I_ find my plot line naive, cliche, and slightly immature. Which is because that is basically everything about me. At 14, I cannot even begin to compare to other seasoned and experienced writers, like [jinx777], or [The Engulfing Silence].

So I think I'll start with a few oneshots, like [input name input number] suggested. That is, if I actually get around to it. In all actuality, I might just drop writing, because I'm more of a reading person. I can't write, but I can see flaws in stories, so maybe I should try my hand at beta-ing.

And finally, I would like to thank a few more people. Thank you [ ]/[JackSmith983] for providing valuable constructive criticism, and I would still love to help you out on your own fanfiction on Wattpad. And many thanks to [redcollector], [moonlitshard], [bRollyJodger], [Whittierking], [TheMoonliteCrow], [Lovableamanda], [Contriel], [Azul D Oceanic], and again, [ ] for actually liking this story enough to add it to their favorites list. Thank you, and I'm sorry for taking up your time.


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